S.L. Narayanan (aka Indianlad) - Grandmaster Extraordinaire
Meet S.L. Narayanan, a Grandmaster (no less!) who dances across the 64 squares with a blend of strategic genius and relentless fighting spirit. With a FIDE title proudly earned, Narayanan is a force to be reckoned with in blitz, rapid, and bullet chess.
Rating & Records
- Peak Blitz Rating: An electrifying 3099 points (April 2025) - sounds like a cheat code, but it’s all skill!
- Peak Rapid Rating: A respectable 2684 (April 2022)
- Peak Bullet Rating: A blazing 3138 (April 2021) - blink and you'll miss it!
Over thousands of games, Narayanan has mastered timing and nerves, boasting over 7,700 blitz wins and more than 4,000 bullet triumphs. The current longest winning streak? A jaw-dropping 30 games in a row. The longest losing streak? A humanizing 16 — even legends have their off days!
Playing Style
Known for an 85% comeback rate, Narayanan thrives under pressure, often turning the tables after losing a piece. With an eye for endgames (appearing in over 75% of his matches) and an average of 74 moves per win, his games are marathons, not sprints—much like a cerebral chess ninja who occasionally pauses for a dramatic flourish.
Favorite Openings
Narayanan plays “Top Secret” openings - literally! In blitz, he wins nearly 65% of the time using them, leaving opponents guessing. Classic openings like the Indian Game and Alapin Sicilian Defense also pepper his repertoire with roughly 50-60% win rates. He's not afraid to mix it up, though sometimes his Sicilian Open Najdorf shows a cheeky 39% win rate — proving even a Grandmaster enjoys a challenge!
Chess Personality & Fun Facts
This Grandmaster is a creature of the night, with his best results often coming around 1 AM — perfect for those who love midnight brain teasers. Despite the serious rankings, Narayanan’s approach to chess could be described as “fierce yet fun.” Don’t be fooled by his steady hand; he’s been known to conjure comebacks so spectacular even the pieces applaud.
Whether crushing opponents in lightning-fast bullet games, or engaging in deep, strategic battles in blitz marathons, S.L. Narayanan plays with passion, resilience, and a twinkle in the eye (if pieces could wink, they would).
Recent Highlights
In a recent online blitz battle on Chess.com, Narayanan brilliantly defeated SharapovEvgeny by resignation using the Modern Defense — a testament to his opening versatility and tactical sharpness. Despite a hard-fought loss to eljanov, our grandmaster's spirit remains unyielding.
Replay the recent win for a dose of strategic brilliance.
Feedback for S.L. Narayanan
Dear S.L. Narayanan, your recent games show a strong strategic understanding and solid opening preparation, especially in complex positions. Here are some detailed observations and suggestions to further elevate your play:
Strengths:
- Opening Knowledge: You demonstrate clear opening principles with accurate move orders and effective piece development, for example in your handling of the English and Sicilian structures.
- Positional Awareness: You maneuver pieces purposefully, exchanging actively when beneficial and maintaining good pawn structure.
- Endgame Technique: Your technique in converting favorable endgames is precise, showing good calculation and control.
Areas for Improvement:
- Handling Opponent Initiative: In some losses, for example against RaunakSadhwani2005 and eljanov, the opponent's active play and space control created pressure. Working on counterplay and prophylaxis in such positions can help neutralize their plan earlier.
- Time Management: In a few games, the clock pressure seemed to limit your decision-making. Consider incorporating more consistent pacing to avoid rushed critical moments.
- Tactical Vigilance: Occasionally, opponents won by exploiting small tactical mistakes or missed defensive resources. Sharpening calculation speed and double-checking forcing lines can help.
Recommendations:
- Continue working on your opening repertoire with focus on typical middlegame plans to maintain comfort across variations.
- In complex middlegames when facing aggressive opponents, try to identify and blunt their active threats earlier to maintain equilibrium.
- Practice time control balance during training to enhance both accuracy and time use, especially in fast formats.
- Regularly solve tactical puzzles to keep calculation skills polished and ready for sharp moments in games.
Overall, your level is very strong and you are consistently competing well against high-rated opponents. With focused effort on these areas, you can convert even more promising positions and improve your results further!
Keep up the excellent work and focus on continuous improvement. Best of luck in your upcoming games!
🆚 Opponent Insights
| Recent Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| masruri_rahman | 1W / 0L / 0D | |
| Arturs Bernotas | 3W / 0L / 0D | |
| Velimir Ivic | 2W / 0L / 0D | |
| Ruslan Gadzhiev | 0W / 1L / 0D | |
| Rodrigo Vasquez | 4W / 4L / 1D | |
| Mika Karttunen | 3W / 0L / 0D | |
| Maksym Dubnevych | 8W / 2L / 0D | |
| Reza Mahdavi | 16W / 12L / 1D | |
| Sergey Drygalov | 16W / 12L / 5D | |
| tassimo777 | 1W / 0L / 0D | |
| Most Played Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| Raja Harshit | 415W / 164L / 27D | |
| Nihal Sarin | 126W / 246L / 45D | |
| Daniel Naroditsky | 94W / 185L / 38D | |
| Tuan Minh Le | 86W / 187L / 30D | |
| Aleksei Sarana | 100W / 115L / 32D | |
Rating
| Year | Bullet | Blitz | Rapid | Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3041 | 3103 | 2549 | |
| 2024 | 2919 | 3023 | 2514 | |
| 2023 | 2922 | 3023 | 2523 | |
| 2022 | 2824 | 2985 | 2543 | |
| 2021 | 3047 | 2906 | 2595 | |
| 2020 | 3070 | 2906 | 2614 | |
| 2019 | 2892 | 1772 | 2511 | |
| 2018 | 2736 | 2819 | ||
| 2017 | 2629 | 2676 | ||
| 2016 | 1874 | 2583 | ||
| 2015 | 2458 | |||
| 2014 | 2457 | |||
| 2013 | 2109 |
Stats by Year
| Year | White | Black | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 446W / 226L / 46D | 422W / 227L / 52D | 72.1 |
| 2024 | 423W / 192L / 47D | 384W / 233L / 46D | 78.0 |
| 2023 | 625W / 287L / 75D | 521W / 361L / 105D | 79.8 |
| 2022 | 405W / 190L / 65D | 358W / 224L / 65D | 85.7 |
| 2021 | 319W / 240L / 46D | 278W / 302L / 49D | 68.2 |
| 2020 | 1244W / 785L / 258D | 1198W / 886L / 237D | 75.9 |
| 2019 | 1308W / 874L / 253D | 1158W / 1018L / 242D | 77.8 |
| 2018 | 764W / 513L / 158D | 687W / 577L / 145D | 73.5 |
| 2017 | 494W / 326L / 88D | 418W / 397L / 76D | 72.1 |
| 2016 | 365W / 218L / 63D | 331W / 249L / 61D | 76.2 |
| 2015 | 4W / 2L / 0D | 3W / 3L / 0D | 72.1 |
| 2014 | 27W / 5L / 0D | 24W / 7L / 1D | 74.0 |
| 2013 | 15W / 2L / 1D | 18W / 0L / 0D | 66.1 |
Openings: Most Played
| Blitz Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 1343 | 717 | 618 | 8 | 53.4% |
| Caro-Kann Defense | 508 | 253 | 195 | 60 | 49.8% |
| Modern | 354 | 188 | 128 | 38 | 53.1% |
| Amar Gambit | 346 | 202 | 103 | 41 | 58.4% |
| Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack | 313 | 165 | 108 | 40 | 52.7% |
| London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation | 272 | 136 | 94 | 42 | 50.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation | 270 | 133 | 121 | 16 | 49.3% |
| Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation | 247 | 130 | 92 | 25 | 52.6% |
| Sicilian Defense: Closed | 232 | 140 | 73 | 19 | 60.3% |
| Scandinavian Defense | 226 | 129 | 74 | 23 | 57.1% |
| Rapid Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caro-Kann Defense | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 25.0% |
| Döry Defense | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 25.0% |
| English Opening: Agincourt Defense | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 28.6% |
| Hungarian Opening: Wiedenhagen-Beta Gambit | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 60.0% |
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Classical Variation | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 25.0% |
| London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 25.0% |
| QGD: Ragozin | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 33.3% |
| Blackburne Shilling Gambit | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Sicilian Defense: Closed | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 33.3% |
| Bullet Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amar Gambit | 434 | 263 | 150 | 21 | 60.6% |
| Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation | 426 | 249 | 159 | 18 | 58.5% |
| Scandinavian Defense | 425 | 234 | 166 | 25 | 55.1% |
| Australian Defense | 359 | 200 | 143 | 16 | 55.7% |
| Modern | 307 | 162 | 126 | 19 | 52.8% |
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack | 289 | 175 | 96 | 18 | 60.5% |
| Benoni Defense: Benoni Gambit Accepted | 209 | 122 | 76 | 11 | 58.4% |
| Döry Defense | 204 | 93 | 92 | 19 | 45.6% |
| Czech Defense | 197 | 135 | 54 | 8 | 68.5% |
| Caro-Kann Defense | 195 | 111 | 73 | 11 | 56.9% |
🔥 Streaks
| Streak | Longest | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Winning | 30 | 1 |
| Losing | 16 | 0 |